Rhinelander honors volunteer forester as council reviews golf course finances

Presentations on an honored urban forester and the city’s municipal golf course led the agenda at the Rhinelander Common Council meeting Monday, Feb. 23.

Council member Steven Jopek was absent.

Rex Zemke of the Wisconsin Urban Forestry Council was on hand to present that organization’s Leadership Award to Tom Jerow.

“Tom has shown outstanding leadership in many ways as the volunteer city forester for Rhinelander,” said Zemke. “He’s used the leadership that he has to establish the city’s urban forestry tree board and serve as a chairperson … and with that active tree board, together they helped establish an urban forestry fund at the Rhinelander Community Foundation and have secured over $300,000 in urban forestry grants and gifts for Rhinelander.”

 Zemke noted that in his past experience as a village forester, he found it a challenge to get others in the community to understand and appreciate the tree resources in urban forestry.

“It is very difficult to do a lot of the tasks that Tom has — and I was a paid employee, so to do this as a volunteer employee speaks volumes about who Tom is,” said Zemke. “That’s why the Urban Forestry Council chose him as the award winner for the leadership award, because leadership unites. I think you guys have a diamond in the rough here.”

“It’s nice to be recognized as an individual,” said Jerow. “However, I insist I share this honor with every single person in this room: the tree board, the city staff, city council, two mayors, two city administrators, and what the heck, I’ll even throw in Town and Country Engineering,” he added, with a laugh.

“ … This achievement ranks as one of the top of my list for being the most rewarding. I feel fortunate to serve my city and my community, and to make Rhinelander a better place to live and play.”

“What you’re doing today is going to impact multiple people and generations for the next 100 years,” mayor Kris Hanus told Jerow. “So thank you so much.”

Northwood Golf Club 2025 details presented

Northwood Golf Club general manager Keith Staron delivered the municipal course’s 2025 year-end report.

He noted that with the city having taken over the course last year from Oliphant Golf Management, the 2025 budget had been Oliphant’s so it didn’t include the cost of life insurance, retirement, and health insurance. Those would total $68,500.

Revenues were $146,967.12 less than budgeted, but the year’s expenditures of $104,732.64 were also less than budgeted, he reported. The result was a net loss of $42,234.48.

“The fact that we were closed for five months to start the season, waiting for liquor licenses to come and losing revenue in the food and beverage department, that also helps (create the deficit),” said Staron. “We figure on average about $10,000 a month that we lost through food and beverage sales that we didn’t have for the first five months of the season. 

“So with that being said, we’ve made the adjustments going into this year’s budget,” he assured the council. “I’ve worked with (city finance director/treasurer) Wendi (Bixby), (city administrator) Patrick (Reagan) and the mayor to make the proper adjustments to make sure everything’s in there properly so this does not happen again this season. We look forward to this season being a profitable one at the golf course.”

Among the wins for the year were food and event sales. 

“Our holiday events were great in December,” he said. “We actually rolled over into January this year with some events that we didn’t have in previous years, so that’s helping the budget, and it allowed us to really refocus on our customers and what they want in the food department.”

Customers also made for a boost in merchandise sales in the pro shop. 

“We went from $82,000 in (2024) sales to $90,000 in sales, partly because we’re listening to our customers,” Staron said, “We’re listening to what they want.”

He also told the board about promoting the course at golf-centric events held in Orlando, Fla., in January and Oshkosh in February. 

“We’re doing more marketing, more advertising, trying to get more people to come out to the golf course and enjoy the community up here,” he said.

Hanus mentioned work has also been going on at the administration level that he hoped would benefit the golf course as well as silent sport trails. 

“We have been working with economic development about some potential developments out there which would then drive more public involvement out there, as well as economic development for the silent sports that we’re building as well as the golf course,” said Hanus.

Other meeting highlights

Later on the agenda, the council approved revised 2025 budget amendments, to correct a number omitted in a $100,000 transfer from the general fund to the special projects fund that was part of the 2025 budget amendments approved at the council’s Feb. 9 meeting. 

Among other meeting highlights, the council also:

• Approved a recommendation from Statewide Services Inc. to disallow a claim received, said Reagan, “from an individual who stated that their car had got damaged during snow removal. What we do is the standard process … (City Clerk) Austyn (Zarda) takes the claim in, and we turn it over to the insurance company, just as you would with your own auto insurance … and Statewide Services came back and said basically … we have governmental immunity. Things happen during snow removal, during different things, and what they’re recommending is the disallowance of this claim.”

• Approved the mayor’s appointment of Brett Aylesworth to the Rhinelander Tourism and Marketing Committee for a partial term ending April 2027.

• Approved an amended agreement with Roger Brisk for concessionaire services at the Northwood Golf Club. Reagan noted payment had originally been $1,000 and a golf course family membership, valued at $1,800. However, Brisk wasn’t using the family membership so requested $1,100 and six $100 Northwoods Golf Club gift certificates instead.

 • Approved a $8,211 quote from Graphic House Customs Signs and Service for a Heal Creek Recreation Area monument sign. Hanus said the Chamber of Commerce’s room tax committee already voted to use their funds for half of the sign’s cost, and the city would pay the other half through its portion of room tax. The new sign will replace the golf course sign on U.S. Highway 8 West and Golf Course Road, while the current sign will be relocated in front of the golf course.

• Approved the $9,979.35 quote from Refrigeration, Control, and Design Inc. for the replacement of an ailing 37-year-old condensing unit for the walk-in freezer at Northwood Golf Club. “You need a walk-in freezer if we’re going to do the volume of business that we wish to do out at the restaurant,” said Hanus.

The city council’s next regular meeting will be March 9 at 6 p.m. at Rhinelander City Hall.

Ardith Carlton may be reached at [email protected].